A Revisit down Friendship Lane (Jul)

A recent food obsession: tiny bread slices with bruschetta, cheese, and/or prosciutto.

Who knew that July was the month for friends?! This month alone, I’ve had three friends come by Boston for a visit. How exciting!

Hats! Hats! Everywhere hats at Salmagundi!

First, I managed to reconnect with a friend from almost 8 years ago who recently began a job in The Big Apple! As it turns out, he had already been planning a road trip up to Boston for the Fourth of July weekend (2-4 Jul). During his stay, we stumbled into a specialty hat store called Salmagundi where he found a hat that actually fits his typically-too-big head! He was floored — and fairly excited, it seemed. There we discovered that they had a tool they call a “hat size checker” — no, seriously, that’s what it’s called — to find hats within their stores that best fit heads of all circumferences. Outside of exploring the world of hats, him and his carload of friends ate their way through Boston’s best. There was time for a late dinner at The Daily Catch, a relaxing afternoon sampling some delicious gelato, and a quick brunch of dim sum at Hei La Moon. They even managed to get on the dinner list for the infamous Neptune Oyster on the Fourth of July!

Those are apparently hat size checkers. Weird.

Shortly after the my New York visitors stepped into Neptune Oyster, I departed for a last minute invitation to a Fourth of July homemade dinner. As it turns out, my friend — whom I had thought left for good for medical school — made an impulsive decision to return to Boston for the three day weekend. Her friend — and our host for the evening — made us some delicious Asian dishes, which we all delighted in as we celebrated American Independence Day.

An Australian spotted jelly (Phyllorhiza punctata) we saw.

Two weeks later was another blast from the past. About half a decade ago, I had made friends with a charming lad at a party. Shortly after we parted ways, he made the choice to join the Navy. We had subsequently reconnected online and, as it turns out, he decided to come visit Boston following his recent relocation in New York (the state)! He came, took me out, and showed me around “my own city” —  full with a short trip to the New England Aquarium to catch some Pokémon on the new Pokémon Go app. All in all, it was a wonderful reconnection.

This is to be my new room, minus all the clutter — hopefully!

The current resident’s cute table, a gift from his grandmother.

On a more personal note, I would like to announce that I have finally found a new apartment in Boston after 6 months of searching! Huzzah! It’s been a work in progress since last month, but I finally got to sign for it on a bright and beautiful Sunday this month (24 Jul)! I do so like my new roommate, as she is also a fellow botanist, and I really hope we can become friends. I’m so excited!

One of those strange signs you rarely — if ever — see.

Outside of friendly visits and apartment hunting, life seems to continue enjoy taking me on a roller coaster ride. After the positively exciting news of securing a new place for the next housing season, my “new” phone decided to take a dive straight into a toilet (28 Jul)! Really?! Now, this “new” phone is doomed to reside in silica gel before I turn it back on as to avoid frying the electronic parts within the phone. On the positive side, I have to say: it is quite nice to be without a phone. I find myself forced to be less stressed about situations because I only have the ability to plan anything when I’m near WiFi. It makes me contemplate living life without a phone permanently, but that would be slightly ridiculous considering the need for connections day to day at this stage of my life.

Some delicious poached eggs with smoked salmon and arugula.

Then, as if to make up for it, life decided to give me the “cooking thumb” and — lo and behold! — I can poach eggs for breakfast (30 Jul)! This was followed up by the luck of finding a dream-come-true nightstand that matched the colour of my bed frame for only $10 at a local Goodwill. Funnily enough, my friend agreed to be daring enough to carry said nightstand 1.3 miles (2.1 km) to my house using only our strength and will — and, I tell ya, it was not easy carrying a solid wood nightstand in flip-flops, mostly walking backwards!

“Today I Learned”

• The “hardness” of water and the minerals inside of it can affect the taste of a tea as you travel between regions with different types of water.
• Okra is in the Malvaceae family, making it related to hibiscus, cotton, and cacao. Also, it is known in some areas as “lady-fingers”.

The Tethys Mosaic in one of the buildings of the Harvard Business School.